Frying Pan Anglers

The lower elevations hit a peak in the melt earlier in the week and now the rivers have come down a little with some relatively cooler weather. The Fork is in good condition though flowing high. The Pan is very clear at its current flow. The best information is that the Bureau will run the Pan up to around 700cfs from the 3rd of June for the co-ordinated release. That will last for a week. Thereafter the flows should come back to remain around 250cfs. However if the Bureau has underestimated the amount of snow they may have to run the flows up again later in the month. The reason they may have underestimated the flows is because we have had quite a lot of rain which fell as snow up higher. There are not enough guages to indicate the snowpack up high so there is a little more guesswork involved than will be admitted.

In the meantime, the fishing on the Pan will be tough when the releases run high so make note. While the cooler weather prevails the Fork will be good above Basalt, but watch the temperatures, as that too could be short lived.

Take a wade trip on one of the West's most iconic rivers. Frying Pan Anglers, located near several top Colorado fisheries knows where the fish are biting. Let them be your guide to ... moremaster fly fishing on the Colorado.

Book a trip on one of Colorado's finest fly fishing rivers, located near Basalt Colorado. The Roaring Fork river is known for fiesty trout and lots of them. Schedule an experienced ... moreguide to show you the hot spots on the river and help you reel in a great catch!

Float Trip on the Roaring Fork River in Colorado
The Fork topped out near 880cfs at the beginning of the week but has been falling all week due to the cooler weather. The Fork offers ... moresome good fishing higher up above Basalt at the moment but as soon as the temperatures increase the flow will pick up again. So keep you eye on the temperatures for an indication of the rate at which the melt will pick up again.

Frying Pan River Wade Trip in Colorado
The Pan is OK at the moment with good water conditions. The fish are still laying low but there were reports of reasonable fishing closer to ... morethe Dam. Note that from the 3rd of June it is anticipated that the releases will be up with the endangered fish program. The Pan will run high for about a week. When the water comes up it won't be good fishing for a day or so, but when it settles down to a consistent flow it will be good fishing close to the dam where there will be floods of mysis shrimp coming through. The remainder of the river will be hard to negotiate for the few days when it runs at its highest level.

Recommended Flies:Use midges, bwos, nymphs and attractors. The fish are also taking small nymphs.

As they come off try the gray loopwing emergers #20 - #22, the FPA special emergers, biot emergers both with and without the trailing shuck and gray RS2's#18 - #22, Johnny Flash in Olive, Grey, and Black, Olive and Red Jujubee, trailing shuck midge black and cream.

In addition try dry patterns such as the z-wing real midge, black cdc midge and any similar dry black and gray patterns in sizes from #20 through to #26.

The fish are taking generic nymphs such as pheasant tails and caddis larvapatterns. The BWO's are coming off as well. Try emerger patterns such as rs2'sand WD-50's.

Frying Pan River Float Trip in Colorado
The Pan is OK at the moment with good water conditions. The fish are still laying low but there were reports of reasonable fishing closer to ... morethe Dam. Note that from the 3rd of June it is anticipated that the releases will be up with the endangered fish program. The Pan will run high for about a week. When the water comes up it won't be good fishing for a day or so, but when it settles down to a consistent flow it will be good fishing close to the dam where there will be floods of mysis shrimp coming through. The remainder of the river will be hard to negotiate for the few days when it runs at its highest level.

Recommended Flies:Use midges, bwos, nymphs and attractors. The fish are also taking small nymphs.

As they come off try the gray loopwing emergers #20 - #22, the FPA special emergers, biot emergers both with and without the trailing shuck and gray RS2's#18 - #22, Johnny Flash in Olive, Grey, and Black, Olive and Red Jujubee, trailing shuck midge black and cream.

In addition try dry patterns such as the z-wing real midge, black cdc midge and any similar dry black and gray patterns in sizes from #20 through to #26.

The fish are taking generic nymphs such as pheasant tails and caddis larvapatterns. The BWO's are coming off as well. Try emerger patterns such as rs2'sand WD-50's.

Chris caught his first trout on the fly in Colorado at age 12 while hiking the headwaters of the Rio Grande. He continues to fish and guide in Colorado through the summers. But his ... morefishing experience is much broader having fished waters stretching from California to Maine and all the way down to Key West.

Chris opened Action Angler & Outdoor Center Fly Shop on the Guadalupe River, Texas in May of 2002 and spends the winters there joining us to guide through the summers in the Roaring Fork Valley.

Mike started fishing at the tender age of 3 in Michigan catching trout on the family spring fed pond. He spent the next 20 years chasing all manner of freshwater fish in the lakes ... moreand streams of Michigan. His fishing interests have taken him as far north as Alaska and down to the Florida Keys.

In his twenties he worked in retail and in Colorado started guiding at Elk Trout at Kremling. He joined FPA over 4 years ago and has quickly progressed to assistant manager in the shop as well as one of our most requested guides.

Cameron Started fishing at the age of 10 in Northern Michigan and started guiding for steelhead, smallmouth and trout 15 years ago. After graduating from Oakland Community College ... morehe worked at Bass Pro in their fly fishing department teaching fly fishing and fly tying.

Coming to Colorado in 2004 he worked at Elk Trout Lodge an Orvis endorsed guide service and lodge and then joined Frying Pan Anglers where he has found his home. He loves all waters from the small streams to the big waters of the Colorado.

Cameron also travels the country in the off season giving presentations to fly clubs and fly fishermen on the Roaring Fork and Frying Pan watersheds.

Patient, a great sense of humor Cameron has been married for 9 years to Kelly and has a great little girl, Addy, who already accompanies him on fishing trips on his days off.

Ed started fishing in the North East with his father as soon as he could walk. Saltwater, freshwater, it didn't matter.
After graduating from the University of West Virginia in Forestry ... moreand Wildlife management, Ed headed out west and settled first in Boulder in 1993 fishing all the rivers on the Front Range.

It didn't take long though before he discovered the Roaring Fork Valley moving here and commencing guiding in 1997.

He has fished here ever since. Over the winters he heads to Florida for saltwater fishing as well.

Looking to do some fishing in Basalt, Colorado? It's a great place to cast a line, but don't get caught without a fishing license! Here's a list of some places nearby where ... moreyou can go to pick one up

Basalt is a town where not one, but two great rivers run through it. Since the Frying Pan and Roaring Fork are renowned the world over for their abundant trout, it’s no wonder the ... moretown is home to great fly shops.

Basalt is situated in close proximity to several of Colorado’s premier trout fishing streams. Though it’s hard to find a bad place to fish in the mountainous state, there are a few ... morestretches of water that have been designated Gold Medal fisheries.

This Scott Rod company video is making the rounds online, and while one person amusingly called it a documentary (it's a "commissioned" work -- a commercial), it's ... moresignificant for a couple of reasons.

It's likely his bamboo rod mill and a handful of cockroaches would be the only thing in Dunsmuir to survive a direct tactical nuclear strike, and yet I've heard him state - ... morewithout a hint of irony - that he'd really like to beef the thing up.

Tom

Aug 18, 2015

I would just like to share my experience Cameron this past weekend. We had a float trip planned for September 2nd and Cameron recommend that we fish the Colorado just down from Glenwood Springs. Not only was the fishing great, but we only saw 2 other boats the entire day. Cameron was very attentive to our every need and provided excellent service through our entire trip. His passion for his job shines
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through and was just as excited as I was when the biggest brown trout I have ever caught was brought to the boat. Your fly shop is very fortunate to have such a wonderful guide and will recommend your shoe to all my friends and family. Thank you again for such a memorable day!!

Larry

May 13, 2013

Thank you all so much for an unforgettable experience in your beautiful piece of paradise! Tyson Reed & I were there with Rick Sept 25th -28th & fished primarily with Cameron. And about Cam: we could not have custom designed a better guide and fishing partner! He was an excellent guide, teacher, companion & friend. What a jewel you have with him!Can you pass this along to Cam? I will try to send a
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few photos in a few.Thank you again for everything! The cabin was also great!

Mike

Mar 9, 2013

Thanks Robyn. Each time I come back, it's a great vacation. And the guide trip was fantastic - this is the second time I've had Harry as my guide and both times he has been phenomenal! The first time, both anglers were advanced and he was great. Spent lots of time with us explaining the river and mapping out trout excursions in the area, after fishing the Fryingpan. This time I had two beginners with
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me - girlfriend, and my sister from Boston - and he was great with them. Gave them an entomology class, gave them a "dry fly 101" explanation and had them both fishing well. He's the best.I'll be back soon, thanks again.

Wayne G

Jul 14, 2012

Last week, my son Jack and I had the opportunity to have Joe guide us to some great fishing in Basalt area. He did a great job and interacted with my son to provide a great experience. We are looking forward to schedule our trip next year with you with our corporate group July 2016. Thanks again and see you next year!!!!

Bob

May 13, 2012

Hi Cameron, I wanted to say what a great time I had fishing with you. Both rivers were terrific – different, which made it fun. On Thursday I woke up to 3” of new snow. I went up to the bridge that crosses the river near the dam. I fished up from there to the hole where the fish were rising when you and I fished. It was snowing fairly hard. The fish were rising. I caught several on suspended midge
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emerger. There was not another angler on the stream. It was wonderful. Those are my favorite conditions. I was a little worried about the car getting snowed in so I stopped fishing about noon and went back to the cabin. After lunch the weather cleared and so I fished the private water section. I had great fishing. Especially in the deep run just at the upper end of the private water. I tried an egg pattern which you had used, but I only had orange. I didn’t catch anything on that. They were all caught on either the #26 red bodied midge, or #22 bead headed zebra midge.The trip couldn’t have been better. I 70 was closed most of Thur, I was a little worried about the big storm coming in Sat, so I changed my flight, left the cabin early Friday morning and headed to Denver. It was snowing pretty hard when the plane took off that early evening.

Robert S

Jul 16, 2011

Good afternoon, I would like to tell you what a great employee you have working for you at the basalt store. I came in a couple days ago and Marty helped me out significantly. I was bass fisherman and cat fisherman from Arizona and had no idea what I was doing besides some of the basics. Marty went out of his way to help set me up and even took me down by the river to teach me the appropriate cast
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for the current set up he had me on. Great guy and I defiantly will be coming back again. Keep up the good work guys.

Marc M

Nov 24, 2010

Fantastic Fishing Experience after 5 Years Locked Away...

Please pass this on to both Jordan Duchein and Warrick- Gents, you may recall my wife and I coming into your Basalt shop late morning Thursday for help in handicapped fishing on the Frying Pan. I wanted you both to know that we had a fantastic time on the river in the evening into dusk and ultimately the dark. We drove down to that bit of paved sidewalk running along the river right across from the
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Gauging Station Pool in the Gold Medal section. Jordan, the drake patterns you sold me were perfect and I caught what was probably the best rainbow ever in a lower 48 stream. The pictures are taken the worst possible way to show off a fish, and it was a comedy of errors on our part landing it! My wife had no idea how to help me land a fish, I finally stepped into the river to make sure we didn't kill it and ultimately fell into the drink and went completely underwater! After getting the fish cleanly unhooked and revived, I had to crawl to shore and drag myself onto the rocks - so it was humbling and really calibrated me that there is no water I can fish without having a partner nearby - that alone will probably save my life again! Anyway, we really appreciated the kindness and professionalism both of you showed us and wanted to pass on our thanks. Next year we will stay in Basalt for the Aspen Music Festival so we can more cleanly split our activity 50% music / 50% fishing. And - amazingly - my wife was so thrilled by the experience that she has decided she would like to take a fly fishing class! Good on ya mates!